Investing.com – The Nasdaq index hit a new record high on Wednesday, helped by a rally in the technology sector and a fall in Treasury yields, as signs of further cooling in the labor market fueled hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this year.
At 1:40 pm ET (1740 GMT), shares were up 1.7% to a record intraday high of 17,140.34, up 34 points, or 0.1%, up 0.9%.
Treasury yields fall as May private sector payrolls miss bets on fuel rate cuts
Treasury yields continued to decline this week as bets on a rate cut were boosted by data showing the economy added less than expected in May, with just 152,000 workers hired that month compared with 188,000 the previous month, and a shortfall economists’ estimates are 173,000.
About 65% of traders expect the Fed to cut 25 basis points in September, up from a probability below 50% a year earlier, according to the FedWatch Tool, which is closely watched by CME.
The data comes a day after a separate report showed job openings fell to their lowest level in three years in April.
A slew of US employment data showing a cooling labor market comes out just ahead of a major monthly report due on Friday.
Big Tech and Chips Continue to Rally
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:) shares rose more than 1%, briefly regaining a market capitalization of $3 trillion, as optimism continues to rise ahead of the tech giant’s artificial intelligence conference next week. Shares of Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:) also showed gains.
Chips were also caught up in the market rout led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE:) after Barclays raised its price target on the chipmaker’s shares from $150 to $170 amid optimism from the company that supplies chips to Apple, Qualcomm (NASDAQ:) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:) will increase its market share amid growing demand for next-generation chips.
Crowdstrike and Hewlett Packard Enterprise shine in earnings; Dollar Tree falls after spin-off report
Shares of software consultancy Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:) rose 14% after it posted strong quarterly earnings and an upbeat outlook on demand for artificial intelligence.
Shares of cybersecurity company CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:) rose more than 10% after it raised its full-year guidance following better-than-expected quarterly earnings amid strong demand for cloud-based cybersecurity.
“We estimate that Cloud Security is a CRWD business worth approximately $500 million, placing them at the top of all cloud security providers, both public and private, in terms of market share,” UBS said in a statement Tuesday. .
Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:) shares fell 1.5% after a report that the discount retailer plans to explore options that include a potential sale or spinoff of Family Dollar.
Energy stocks stabilize after recent losses
Energy stocks tried to reverse their recent declines as oil prices rose despite rising U.S. prices. Industry data points to an unexpected increase in US inventories.
Stockpiles jumped 1.2 million barrels in the week to May 31, up from estimates of 2.3 million barrels, U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed, but far less than a report a day earlier showing a rise of 4 million. barrels.
(Peter Nurse and Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)